diff --git a/adminSiteClient/GdocsBreadcrumbsInput.tsx b/adminSiteClient/GdocsManualBreadcrumbsInput.tsx
similarity index 73%
rename from adminSiteClient/GdocsBreadcrumbsInput.tsx
rename to adminSiteClient/GdocsManualBreadcrumbsInput.tsx
index 094e7188cb..e2ef87fa2c 100644
--- a/adminSiteClient/GdocsBreadcrumbsInput.tsx
+++ b/adminSiteClient/GdocsManualBreadcrumbsInput.tsx
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ export const BreadcrumbLine = ({
     )
 }
 
-export const GdocsBreadcrumbsInput = ({
+export const GdocsManualBreadcrumbsInput = ({
     gdoc,
     setCurrentGdoc,
     errors,
@@ -85,56 +85,63 @@ export const GdocsBreadcrumbsInput = ({
             breadcrumbs[breadcrumbs.length - 1].href = undefined
         } else breadcrumbs = undefined
 
-        setCurrentGdoc({ ...gdoc, breadcrumbs: breadcrumbs ?? null })
+        setCurrentGdoc({ ...gdoc, manualBreadcrumbs: breadcrumbs ?? null })
     }
 
     const setItemAtIndex = (item: BreadcrumbItem, i: number) => {
-        const breadcrumbs = [...(gdoc.breadcrumbs ?? [])]
+        const breadcrumbs = [...(gdoc.manualBreadcrumbs ?? [])]
         breadcrumbs[i] = item
         setBreadcrumbs(breadcrumbs)
     }
 
     const removeItemAtIndex = (i: number) => {
-        const breadcrumbs = [...(gdoc.breadcrumbs ?? [])]
+        const breadcrumbs = [...(gdoc.manualBreadcrumbs ?? [])]
         breadcrumbs.splice(i, 1)
         setBreadcrumbs(breadcrumbs)
     }
 
     return (
         <div className="form-group">
-            <div className="d-flex justify-content-between">
-                Breadcrumbs
-                <Button
-                    type="dashed"
-                    onClick={() =>
-                        setBreadcrumbs([
-                            { label: "" },
-                            ...(gdoc.breadcrumbs ?? []),
-                        ])
-                    }
-                >
-                    <FontAwesomeIcon icon={faPlus} className="mr-1" /> Add
-                    breadcrumb
-                </Button>
-            </div>
-            {gdoc.breadcrumbs?.map((item, i) => (
+            <div className="d-flex justify-content-between">Breadcrumbs</div>
+            {!!gdoc.breadcrumbs?.length && !gdoc.manualBreadcrumbs?.length && (
+                <p>
+                    The breadcrumbs for this article will be automatically
+                    generated, based on this article's tags and the tag graph.
+                    If you want to override these breadcrumbs, you can do so
+                    here.
+                </p>
+            )}
+            <Button
+                type="dashed"
+                onClick={() =>
+                    setBreadcrumbs([
+                        { label: "" },
+                        ...(gdoc.manualBreadcrumbs ?? []),
+                    ])
+                }
+            >
+                <FontAwesomeIcon icon={faPlus} className="mr-1" /> Add
+                breadcrumb
+            </Button>
+            {gdoc.manualBreadcrumbs?.map((item, i) => (
                 <BreadcrumbLine
                     item={item}
                     setItem={(item) => setItemAtIndex(item, i)}
                     removeItem={() => removeItemAtIndex(i)}
                     key={i}
                     labelError={getPropertyMostCriticalError(
-                        `breadcrumbs[${i}].label`,
+                        `manualBreadcrumbs[${i}].label`,
                         errors
                     )}
                     hrefError={getPropertyMostCriticalError(
-                        `breadcrumbs[${i}].href`,
+                        `manualBreadcrumbs[${i}].href`,
                         errors
                     )}
-                    isLastBreadcrumbItem={i === gdoc.breadcrumbs!.length - 1}
+                    isLastBreadcrumbItem={
+                        i === gdoc.manualBreadcrumbs!.length - 1
+                    }
                 />
             ))}
-            {!gdoc.breadcrumbs?.length && <i>No breadcrumbs</i>}
         </div>
     )
 }
diff --git a/adminSiteClient/GdocsSettingsForms.tsx b/adminSiteClient/GdocsSettingsForms.tsx
index a191106806..5d555a45df 100644
--- a/adminSiteClient/GdocsSettingsForms.tsx
+++ b/adminSiteClient/GdocsSettingsForms.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import {
 import { GdocsPublishedAt } from "./GdocsDateline.js"
 import { GdocsPublicationContext } from "./GdocsPublicationContext.js"
 import { Alert } from "antd"
-import { GdocsBreadcrumbsInput } from "./GdocsBreadcrumbsInput.js"
+import { GdocsManualBreadcrumbsInput } from "./GdocsManualBreadcrumbsInput.js"
 
 const GdocCommonErrors = ({
     errors,
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ export const GdocPostSettings = ({
                     errors={errors}
                     description="An optional property to override the excerpt of this post in our atom feed, which is used for the newsletter"
                 />
-                <GdocsBreadcrumbsInput
+                <GdocsManualBreadcrumbsInput
                     gdoc={gdoc}
                     errors={errors}
                     setCurrentGdoc={setCurrentGdoc}
diff --git a/adminSiteClient/gdocsDeploy.ts b/adminSiteClient/gdocsDeploy.ts
index 543e0c1f2e..20ea701028 100644
--- a/adminSiteClient/gdocsDeploy.ts
+++ b/adminSiteClient/gdocsDeploy.ts
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ export const checkIsLightningUpdate = (
         Exclude<keyof OwidGdocBaseInterface, "content">,
         boolean
     > = {
-        breadcrumbs: true,
+        breadcrumbs: true, // automatically generated, not actually possible to change via the admin preview
+        manualBreadcrumbs: true,
         errors: true,
         linkedAuthors: false,
         linkedCharts: true,
diff --git a/adminSiteClient/gdocsValidation.ts b/adminSiteClient/gdocsValidation.ts
index 0ad8da3f38..fe64982c67 100644
--- a/adminSiteClient/gdocsValidation.ts
+++ b/adminSiteClient/gdocsValidation.ts
@@ -140,12 +140,12 @@ function validateExcerpt(
     }
 }
 
-function validateBreadcrumbs(
+function validateManualBreadcrumbs(
     gdoc: OwidGdocPostInterface,
     errors: OwidGdocErrorMessage[]
 ) {
-    if (gdoc.breadcrumbs) {
-        for (const [i, breadcrumb] of gdoc.breadcrumbs.entries()) {
+    if (gdoc.manualBreadcrumbs) {
+        for (const [i, breadcrumb] of gdoc.manualBreadcrumbs.entries()) {
             if (!breadcrumb.label) {
                 errors.push({
                     property: `breadcrumbs[${i}].label`,
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ function validateBreadcrumbs(
             }
 
             // Last item can be missing a href
-            if (!breadcrumb.href && i !== gdoc.breadcrumbs.length - 1) {
+            if (!breadcrumb.href && i !== gdoc.manualBreadcrumbs.length - 1) {
                 errors.push({
                     property: `breadcrumbs[${i}].href`,
                     type: OwidGdocErrorMessageType.Error,
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ export const getErrors = (gdoc: OwidGdoc): OwidGdocErrorMessage[] => {
     if (checkIsGdocPost(gdoc)) {
         validateRefs(gdoc, errors)
         validateExcerpt(gdoc, errors)
-        validateBreadcrumbs(gdoc, errors)
+        validateManualBreadcrumbs(gdoc, errors)
         validateAtomFields(gdoc, errors)
     } else if (checkIsDataInsight(gdoc)) {
         validateApprovedBy(gdoc, errors)
diff --git a/baker/SiteBaker.tsx b/baker/SiteBaker.tsx
index 8a565eb578..6f6decdb44 100644
--- a/baker/SiteBaker.tsx
+++ b/baker/SiteBaker.tsx
@@ -634,7 +634,7 @@ export class SiteBaker {
             publishedGdoc.linkedIndicators = attachments.linkedIndicators
 
             if (
-                !publishedGdoc.breadcrumbs?.length &&
+                !publishedGdoc.manualBreadcrumbs?.length &&
                 publishedGdoc.tags?.length
             ) {
                 publishedGdoc.breadcrumbs = db.getBestBreadcrumbs(
diff --git a/db/db.ts b/db/db.ts
index ef992fc16c..d64f6d29ad 100644
--- a/db/db.ts
+++ b/db/db.ts
@@ -390,7 +390,7 @@ export const getPublishedGdocPosts = async (
         knex,
         `-- sql
         SELECT
-        g.breadcrumbs,
+        g.manualBreadcrumbs,
         g.content,
         g.createdAt,
         g.id,
@@ -426,7 +426,7 @@ export const getPublishedGdocPostsWithTags = async (
         knex,
         `-- sql
         SELECT
-        g.breadcrumbs,
+        g.manualBreadcrumbs,
         g.content,
         g.createdAt,
         g.id,
diff --git a/db/migrateWpPostsToArchieMl.ts b/db/migrateWpPostsToArchieMl.ts
index a0938d6c54..e3a9647c39 100644
--- a/db/migrateWpPostsToArchieMl.ts
+++ b/db/migrateWpPostsToArchieMl.ts
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ const migrate = async (trx: db.KnexReadWriteTransaction): Promise<void> => {
                 updatedAt: post.updated_at_in_wordpress,
                 publicationContext: OwidGdocPublicationContext.listed, // TODO: not all articles are listed, take this from the DB
                 revisionId: null,
-                breadcrumbs: null,
+                manualBreadcrumbs: null,
                 markdown: null,
             }
             const archieMlStatsContent = {
diff --git a/db/migration/1736455365750-RenameBreadcrumbsColumn.ts b/db/migration/1736455365750-RenameBreadcrumbsColumn.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e23ced8420
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migration/1736455365750-RenameBreadcrumbsColumn.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+import { MigrationInterface, QueryRunner } from "typeorm"
+
+export class RenameBreadcrumbsColumn1736455365750
+    implements MigrationInterface
+{
+    public async up(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            ALTER TABLE posts_gdocs RENAME COLUMN breadcrumbs TO manualBreadcrumbs`)
+    }
+
+    public async down(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            ALTER TABLE posts_gdocs RENAME COLUMN manualBreadcrumbs TO breadcrumbs`)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/db/model/Gdoc/GdocBase.ts b/db/model/Gdoc/GdocBase.ts
index 754471c247..f16d18128f 100644
--- a/db/model/Gdoc/GdocBase.ts
+++ b/db/model/Gdoc/GdocBase.ts
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ export class GdocBase implements OwidGdocBaseInterface {
     publicationContext: OwidGdocPublicationContext =
         OwidGdocPublicationContext.unlisted
     breadcrumbs: BreadcrumbItem[] | null = null
+    manualBreadcrumbs: BreadcrumbItem[] | null = null
     tags: DbPlainTag[] | null = null
     errors: OwidGdocErrorMessage[] = []
     donors: string[] = []
diff --git a/db/model/Gdoc/GdocFactory.ts b/db/model/Gdoc/GdocFactory.ts
index 4e8f9f8140..de175255d2 100644
--- a/db/model/Gdoc/GdocFactory.ts
+++ b/db/model/Gdoc/GdocFactory.ts
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ export async function getGdocBaseObjectById(
         )
         gdoc.tags = tags
 
-        if (!gdoc.breadcrumbs?.length && tags.length) {
+        if (tags.length) {
             const parentTagArraysByChildName =
                 await getParentTagArraysByChildName(knex)
             gdoc.breadcrumbs = getBestBreadcrumbs(
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ export async function getPublishedGdocBaseObjectBySlug(
             [gdoc.id]
         )
         gdoc.tags = tags
-        if (!gdoc.breadcrumbs?.length && tags.length) {
+        if (tags.length) {
             const parentTagArraysByChildName =
                 await getParentTagArraysByChildName(knex)
             gdoc.breadcrumbs = getBestBreadcrumbs(
@@ -595,7 +595,7 @@ export function getDbEnrichedGdocFromOwidGdoc(
     gdoc: OwidGdoc | GdocBase
 ): DbEnrichedPostGdoc {
     const enrichedGdoc = {
-        breadcrumbs: gdoc.breadcrumbs,
+        manualBreadcrumbs: gdoc.manualBreadcrumbs,
         content: gdoc.content,
         createdAt: gdoc.createdAt,
         id: gdoc.id,
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/PostsGdocs.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/PostsGdocs.ts
index 1c7bc650b2..c5e0c63933 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/PostsGdocs.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/PostsGdocs.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { MinimalTag } from "./Tags.js"
 
 export const PostsGdocsTableName = "posts_gdocs"
 export interface DbInsertPostGdoc {
-    breadcrumbs?: JsonString | null
+    manualBreadcrumbs?: JsonString | null
     content: JsonString
     createdAt: Date
     id: string
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ export interface DbInsertPostGdoc {
 export type DbRawPostGdoc = Required<DbInsertPostGdoc>
 export type DbEnrichedPostGdoc = Omit<
     DbRawPostGdoc,
-    "content" | "breadcrumbs" | "published"
+    "content" | "manualBreadcrumbs" | "published"
 > & {
     content: OwidGdocContent
-    breadcrumbs: BreadcrumbItem[] | null
+    manualBreadcrumbs: BreadcrumbItem[] | null
     published: boolean
 }
 
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ export function parsePostsGdocsRow(row: DbRawPostGdoc): DbEnrichedPostGdoc {
     return {
         ...row,
         content: parsePostGdocContent(row.content),
-        breadcrumbs: parsePostsGdocsBreadcrumbs(row.breadcrumbs),
+        manualBreadcrumbs: parsePostsGdocsBreadcrumbs(row.manualBreadcrumbs),
         published: !!row.published,
     }
 }
@@ -77,10 +77,17 @@ export function parsePostsGdocsWithTagsRow(
 }
 
 export function serializePostsGdocsRow(row: DbEnrichedPostGdoc): DbRawPostGdoc {
+    // Kind of awkward, but automatic breadcrumbs are part of OwidGdocBaseInterface,
+    // but not part of the DB schema. So we remove them here.
+    if ("breadcrumbs" in row) {
+        delete row.breadcrumbs
+    }
     return {
         ...row,
         content: serializePostGdocContent(row.content),
-        breadcrumbs: serializePostsGdocsBreadcrumbs(row.breadcrumbs),
+        manualBreadcrumbs: serializePostsGdocsBreadcrumbs(
+            row.manualBreadcrumbs
+        ),
         published: row.published ? 1 : 0,
     }
 }
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/gdocTypes/Gdoc.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/gdocTypes/Gdoc.ts
index a6f35022ea..ca6b902717 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/gdocTypes/Gdoc.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/gdocTypes/Gdoc.ts
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ export interface OwidGdocBaseInterface {
     updatedAt: Date | null
     revisionId: string | null
     publicationContext: OwidGdocPublicationContext
-    breadcrumbs: BreadcrumbItem[] | null
+    manualBreadcrumbs: BreadcrumbItem[] | null
     linkedAuthors?: LinkedAuthor[]
     linkedDocuments?: Record<string, OwidGdocMinimalPostInterface>
     linkedCharts?: Record<string, LinkedChart>
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ export interface OwidGdocBaseInterface {
     relatedCharts?: RelatedChart[]
     tags?: MinimalTag[] | null
     errors?: OwidGdocErrorMessage[]
+    breadcrumbs?: BreadcrumbItem[] | null
     markdown: string | null
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.ts
index a81abc69b8..a456eeea21 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.ts
@@ -1932,7 +1932,7 @@ export function isFiniteWithGuard(value: unknown): value is number {
 
 // Use with getParentTagArraysByChildName to collapse all paths to the child into a single array of unique parent tag names
 export function getUniqueNamesFromParentTagArrays(
-    parentTagArrays: DbPlainTag[][]
+    parentTagArrays: Pick<DbPlainTag, "id" | "name" | "slug">[][]
 ): string[] {
     const tagNames = new Set<string>(
         parentTagArrays.flatMap((parentTagArray) =>
diff --git a/site/gdocs/pages/GdocPost.tsx b/site/gdocs/pages/GdocPost.tsx
index 64468b8090..0fc0f892c4 100644
--- a/site/gdocs/pages/GdocPost.tsx
+++ b/site/gdocs/pages/GdocPost.tsx
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ export function GdocPost({
     publishedAt,
     slug,
     breadcrumbs,
+    manualBreadcrumbs,
 }: OwidGdocPostInterface & {
     isPreviewing?: boolean
 }) {
@@ -90,7 +91,7 @@ export function GdocPost({
             <OwidGdocHeader
                 content={content}
                 publishedAt={publishedAt}
-                breadcrumbs={breadcrumbs ?? undefined}
+                breadcrumbs={manualBreadcrumbs ?? breadcrumbs ?? undefined}
                 isDeprecated={isDeprecated}
             />
             {isDeprecated && content["deprecation-notice"] && (